Under the Yellow Tape
by Mrs. Naara
Summary: Follow up to Double Digit Countdown and Till DEATH Do You Part. 7 more years later. It is Kate's turn to deal with teenage love, while working a seemingly impossible murder case. Caskett/Esplanie/Ryan-Jenny/OCXOC


**Thanks to Overwhelming Response to BOTH of my "Caskett" Fanfictions, I have decided to write another one for ya'll! Thanks so much to all the Reviewers for "Double Digit Countdown", **_RandomPerson12389, SuperxXxGirl79, Ninjaagurl, Hazmatt, frozenfiery, heidigjr, underarrest39, aero09, and lex. _**Thanks so much for your reviews! SOOOOO, I am writing ANOTHER Caskett Kid Fanfic! This focuses MORE on A relationship between the mystery man of the Caskett kid, EMMA CASTLE! *cheers … claps…* So, this is Beckett's turn to freak out about her daughter falling in love! This is gonna be funnnnn. So enjoy! **

**Caskett/Esplaine/Ryan-Jenny/OCXOC**

**Reader Discretion: THIS IS AN AU FIC!**

**You have been warned.**

**Oh yeah, and Castle doesn't belong to me. **

A Caskett Kid Story: Under the Yellow Tape

Emma Castle was your typical teenage girl. Good grades, or at least… decent, grades, feathered brunette hair, big brown puppy dog eyes, and a gleaming smile that made it impossible to think she ever did anything wrong. The only people in her life that could see past her mischievous smile were her parents, Rick and Kate. Oh, and her older sister, Alexis. She could be described simply as a jack-of-all-trades. She played flute in her school band, played varsity soccer and basketball, volunteered at the precinct on weekends, and she was a very friendly person that everyone loved to be around. There was just one thing wrong,

She had never fallen in love.

Her mother was glad for this trait because of the "you'll always be my baby" factor. Her father was all for her decision, happy that his "Caskett Kid" was old enough to make her own decisions. But there was a more logical reason, Emma didn't want to. She heard the stories from her sister about heartbreak. After all, Alexis had gotten engaged and then had to break it off. Emma was never actually told why this had happened, but a new name, Ashley, was constantly brought up. Emma didn't bother to ask who he, or was it a she, was. But having grown up around Owen, she just went along with it and that was that. She heard how easy it is for teens to fall into something and then regret it later. The bottom line; she would never fall in love. It wasn't going to happen, E-V-E-R. Her best friends, Lizzie and Tania kept trying to set her up with different boys but Emma would not fall for it. If she were ever to fall in love, it would be of her own free willpower, as if THAT would ever happen.

But then it hit her like a ton of bricks. No, literally, a ton of bricks hit her, or ALMOST hit her. If it hadn't been for that one boy, she'd be one of her mother's murder investigations.

It all began that one fateful day behind the yellow tape…

It had been a particularly cloudy Saturday morning. Her mother had received the call from Uncle Roy that a body had been found by a construction site. Being the daughter of a homicide detective, Emma naturally decided to take up her mother's offer to come to the crime scene. They made their usual stop by Starbucks, Kate getting a "Venti" latte', Emma getting the same thing, just "tall". By 9:30AM, they were stepping under the tape. Emma's Aunt Lanie, the medical examiner, was already examining the body. It had been pummeled by cement and debris, blood splats extended underneath the rubble. Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin were talking to the construction workers around the scene of the murder.

"I'd say he fell from around the 5th floor," Emma said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the detectives. Lanie looked up.

"Good morning to you too Em," she said. "And yes, by the looks of it he fell from the 5th floor. But how were you able to tell just by looking?"

"His body, the way it's sprawled out on the sidewalk… and the blood spatter. He indented the cement."

"That's my girl," Kate said coming over to join the girls. Emma squinted as Kate put her arm around her shoulder.

"Mooommmm," Emma whined, "Not at a crime scene!" Kate backed off.

"Okay, okay, sorry. So Lanie, any guesses as to time of death?"

"He'd been here a while. I'd say a couple of days… I'll have to perform an autopsy for approximate time of death…" Lanie said. Emma bent down next to the body and took a pair of gloves from Lanie's supplies. She touched the chest, then the forehead, then both elbows. She removed the gloves and looked up at her mother.

"He died on Wednesday, around 7:30PM till 9:00PM." Emma said simply. Lanie's mouth dropped. Kate's eyes were as big as dinner plates.

"How'd you deduce that?" Uncle Javi asked, coming over to join them. All three gave him a look. "Sorry, I finished the interview, and couldn't help but overhear," he explained. Emma crossed her arms over her chest, ruffling her "Three Days Grace" t-shirt.

"Uh-oh, she's in think mode…" Kate groaned with a laugh. Lanie stood up.

"I'm going back to the morgue," she said, while watching two men put the bagged body on a gurney. "Want to ride in the death-mobile?" she asked Emma. Emma looked up.

"Sure, let's go!" she said. Kate smiled again.

"Have her back at the precinct by 11:00 please," she said. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Why eleven? You always let me stay out till at least noon!" Emma complained.

"Because it's Saturday, and you have flute lessons at 11:15," Kate said.

"Oh, I forgot," Emma said. "Fine, I'll be back by then."

"Come on Emma, we have a dead body waiting for us!" Lanie said. Emma nodded and followed Lanie to the car.

"So Beckett, how does it feel to have a daughter in her junior year of high school?" Detective Ryan asked as the "death-mobile" drove away.

"I have to admit, I've never been more proud to have a daughter. She really grew up well…" Detective Beckett said.

"Do you think hubby raised her well?" Detective Esposito asked.

"Oh I think he put in the right input at the right time… It was a team effort ya know," Beckett said.

"She's so smart; I'll bet she got it from you." Ryan said.

"No… that's Rick Castle smart… I knew it in a heartbeat." Beckett said. "Come on fellas; let's get back to the precinct." Ryan and Esposito smiled at each other. "What are you waiting for?" Kate yelled.

* * *

><p>"Emma, you are now 17 years old. I think you're ready for your first autopsy!" Lanie said excitedly.<p>

"Do you mean it, Lanie?" Emma asked excitedly.

"Think you can handle it?" Lanie asked. Emma nodded ecstatically.

"Come on Lanie, I took High School Honors Biology, I'm ready for ANYTHING," Emma said triumphantly. Lanie walked over to a storage room and pulled out two folded sets of scrubs.

"Green or Blue?" she asked. Emma took the blue ones.

"Welcome to the M.E. team!" she said. "The bathroom's down the hall, so go change while I ask the boss man for some tools," Lanie said.

"Okay, thanks Aunt Lanie!" Emma said happily.

* * *

><p>Emma and Lanie stared at the dead body, covered in a white cloth. <em>He looks so peaceful…<em> Emma thought to herself. She stared at the tools on the metal tray next to her.

"Okay, first we have to get a full x-ray of the body, to detect any suspicious items or things that might help us," she said. Emma nodded as Lanie pushed a big red button, lowering the x-ray machine. "Emma, see that big gray cloth over there?"

"Yeah what about it?" Emma asked.

"We need to put that over his vital organs. The radiation could destroy evidence inside of him." Emma grabbed the cloth and put it over the victim. "Excellent. Now we go outside to take pictures. All of settings are on, so we'll get plenty of x-rays," she said. Emma followed Lanie outside the room, and she closed the door. "Would you like to do the honors?" she asked. Emma nodded and pushed the big blue button outside the door. Several clicking sounds were heard then a loud buzz. Lanie unlocked the door.

"It's all done. Let's get started with the autopsy." She said. Emma followed Lanie back into the room. "Let me just retrieve the x-rays, I'll be right back," she said. Emma sighed.

"Okay, I'll wait here…" she said as Lanie left the room.

* * *

><p>"Hey guys, have we identified our vic yet?" Kate asked, walking into the conference room.<p>

"Nothing… His prints weren't in the system, he has no priors, seemed like a regular guy," Ryan said.

"That's an oddity around here…" Kate sighed. "Keep looking, our guy has to be somebody from somewhere…" Kate said. Ryan nodded.

"We're on it," he said.

* * *

><p>"And now we stich him back up…" Lanie said, holding up a needle and thread. Emma wiped the back of her hand across her forehead.<p>

"Alright. What do I need to do?" she asked.

"Stitch him up. I'll call your mom and tell her the findings."

"Alright," Emma said, watching Lanie step to the side. She attempted to get it like Lanie always did. But the flaps of skin were just… gross. _Get a hold of yourself Emma, just sew the guy up!" _She thought to herself.

* * *

><p>"What did you find?" Kate asked, entering the room where the victim was.<p>

"Several broken and fractured bones, all of his ribs are destroyed, he has several major skull fractures, and some blunt force trauma on the small of his back. It's dried blood mostly. I can't be sure when he got it," Lanie replied.

"I'd say the blunt force knocked him off the building. There was something going on up there… I don't know what exactly though," Emma said, coming forward while removing her gloves.

"Can we run DNA checking on the blood?" Kate asked Lanie.

"It's already in the lab. I can get you some results by tonight," Lanie replied. Kate nodded.

"Well Miss Castle, how about you do some solo investigation work for me then," Kate said.

"Really? You mean it?" Emma asked happily. Kate held out her car keys.

"I need you to go back to the construction site and try to find a wallet, or something that could help us identify him, as far as we know the blood on his back actually belongs to him," she said.

"I'm on it!" Emma said, taking the keys and running out the door.

"Big responsibility you gave her," Lanie said. "She's really growing up isn't she?"

"I never doubted it for a moment…" Kate responded. "But something inside me just doesn't want her to leave."

"Welcome to motherhood honey, Welcome to motherhood."

"Oh you're one to talk, Tania is only 16," Kate retorted.

* * *

><p>Emma turned off the car and sat back for a moment. She looked at the construction site. The rubble had been moved only slightly, and the yellow tape was where it was when she had first arrived. She felt good about being able to do solo work and all. But maybe it was just the thought of having to stich up a dead body finally getting to her. Regardless, now was not the time for that. Now was the time for detective work. She got out of the car and waved to the two cops guarding the crime scene. They let her in, knowing who she was. Emma stepped under the tape and looked around. There was something about it; something that made her feel that she overlooked some sort of detail. She approached the white chalk lines that had been drawn where the body was found. The blood splatter had dried in the fall sun, turning it a dark brown color that blended in with the pavement. She squatted down by the chalk lines and sighed. Emma looked up at the scaffolding above her; there was an incomplete wall of bricks approximately three floors above her. She furrowed her eyebrows. <em>Who uses bricks anymore<em>? Emma pondered. She looked back at the indent in the ground. Perhaps the victim was a construction worker. She shook her head in thought. Suddenly, a rather large shadow appeared around her, and she looked up in horror as a pile of bricks fell in her direction. Her body froze up, no matter how much she wanted to dart out of the way, she couldn't make herself. She closed her eyes, not wanting to watch what happened next. She felt a shove, heard a crash, and she felt no pain. Her breathing had sped up She refused to open her eyes at first, but eventually she cracked one eye open, then the other. She blinked the sparks in her vision away and saw what had happened. There was a big pile of bricks, right where the body had been found. Her breathing didn't slow; she took labored breaths, taking in all of what had just happened. Had someone tried to _kill_ her? She turned to a teenage boy crouched next to her. He wore a look of confusion and worry, his gray eyes staring intently into her brown ones.  
>"Are you okay?" he asked. Emma looked away, down to the ground and then back at the boy who had apparently saved her life. "Are you okay?" he asked again. Emma blinked a couple of times before nodding.<p>

"Yeah… yeah, I'm just fine. Thank you…" she said. A wide grin crossed the boy's face.

"Well that's good to hear!" he said cheerfully. "The names Gavin, Gavin Thomas," Emma nodded and took his offered hand, both of them standing.

"I'm Emma, Emma Castle," Emma said, brushing the debris from her black jeans. Gavin's cheerful face turned to a confused one as Emma faced him. He gestured towards the pile of bricks.

"So, what were you doing here? Don't you know that this is a construction site?" Gavin asked. "And a crime scene?" he added.

"Yes, I'm well aware. I volunteer at the twelfth precinct. My mom works there," Emma explained.

"Your mom's a cop?" Gavin asked.

"A homicide detective, to be exact," Emma said. "She asked me to come down here and double check a few things."

"Wow, she really trusts you huh?" Gavin asked a little more cheerfully.

"You could say that," Emma said, giving him a smile. Gavin smiled back. He began to walk off. "Hey, would you mind coming back to the precinct with me? My mom might want to meet the boy who saved my life. And ask you a few questions about why you were here." Gavin shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded.

"I suppose so," he said. Emma smiled at him once more. They made their way to the car and got in.

"Hey Gavin?" Emma asked as she started the car.

"Yes, Emma?" he asked, using her name for the first time since they met.

"Thank you for saving me," she said.

* * *

><p>Emma made her way through morning New York traffic and back to the precinct in record time, Gavin in the passenger seat. Upon arriving, she sat in the car for a few moments; Gavin tapped his fingers on his knee.<p>

"So… are we going to go in?" he asked. Emma turned to face him and nodded. She undid her seatbelt and turned the car off.

"I'm just going to warn you now. My mother is a little, serious. She might think of you the wrong way unless I explain to her before you show your face. So please, keep your mouth shut unless you're asked a question," Emma said as kindly as she could. Gavin gave a single nod.

"Don't you worry about that Emma, I'll be as quiet as a mouse!" he said. Emma rolled her eyes, for mice weren't all _that _quiet. But she understood his intention. Gavin and Emma got out of the car, Emma locking it up behind them. They entered the large front hall, Emma giving a small wave to Tony, the security guard as they made their way to the elevator. As soon as they got in, it was silent again. The only sound was the belts moving the elevator and Gavin's soft breathing. The elevator bell rang, and the doors opened up. Emma got out first, followed by Gavin. She approached the partially filled "murder board". Her mother was sitting at her desk, typing something into the computer while her father was obviously pestering her. Emma checked her wristwatch… it was about five to eleven. Gavin let out a gasp behind her.

"What's wrong Gavin?" Emma asked, turning to face him. Gavin's eyes fell on her and then back to something over by her mother. Then it hit her… her dad. He was looking at her dad.

"Is that… Richard Castle?" he asked in a soft but obviously stunned voice. Emma rolled her eyes. She walked forward to her parents. They both looked at her without a word, then at Gavin, who had gone into what Emma liked to call "fan mode". This was the problem with bringing people here on Saturday mornings. Her dad always took her to Frankie's house, Frankie being her flute instructor.

"Emma, there you are!" her father exclaimed. Emma rolled her eyes again, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Good morning to you too daddy," she muttered quietly, hoping that Gavin wouldn't make the connection. By Gavin's next gasp she figured it was too late for that now. She might as well make formal introductions. "Gavin, this is Richard Castle… my dad," she said. Gavin was quick to shake his hand, Rick shooting a look at Emma as Gavin rambled about how much he liked Rick's work and how big of a fan he was. Emma made her way over to her mother who had taken notice of the exchange by this point.

"Who's the fan?" Kate asked Emma as she rested her arm on the top of Kate's chair.

"Gavin Thomas. I found him at the construction site. Or rather, he saved me at the construction site," Emma explained. Kate's gaze fell from Rick and Gavin to Emma.

"Saved?" she questioned. "Emma, what do you mean by 'saved'?" Emma sighed and tried to focus her attention on Gavin again.

"A, uh, pile of bricks almost fell on me. It was unexpected, and I couldn't move, and he pushed me out of the way. I brought him back here for questioning," Emma admitted. Kate's mouth gaped wide open.

"A pile of _what_?" Kate exclaimed, putting emphasis on "what". Emma sighed.

"Bricks mom, a pile of bricks from the construction site," she said in an exasperated tone. Rick escaped from Gavin and made his way over to Emma.

"I'd ask what your mother is so upset about, but then we'd be late for your lesson. You can explain in the car missy," he said. Emma hung her head and made her way back to the elevator. Rick kissed Kate on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight," he muttered before jogging over to Emma who was holding the elevator door for him.

Kate found herself blushing slightly as the elevator doors closed. She couldn't say that she didn't _like_ it when Rick did that to her at work, but the truth was, she did. Her eyes fell on Gavin, who was looking around, confused now that his guide and his "idol" had left.

"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions, um, Gavin was it?" Kate asked. Gavin turned to face the detective.

"No, not at all," Gavin said. He followed her into the interrogation room, not knowing what to expect.

* * *

><p>"Good Morning, Frankie!" Emma called out, entering the house of her flute instructor and slipped her tennis shoes off her feet and onto the carpet by the door. She heard a ring of sixteenth notes coming from the other room. As she made her way through the hall and into Frankie's studio, she noticed that the student before her was still there. Emma sighed and rapped her fist on the clear glass window looking into Frankie's studio, only entering after the older woman nodded her head. The other student, Donna, from Emma's band class, stopped playing and smiled at the teenager.<p>

"Hey Em," Frankie said. "I just need to finish with Donna; you can take a seat in the swivel chair over there." Emma took the suggestion gratefully and set her flute on the desk, poking through some photos of Frankie and her friends on the desk. Emma smiled at one of Frankie looking particularly happy, standing next to her (Emma's) mom and dad at one of her dad's book signings. Emma's gaze fell on the extensive collection of novels above the desk. Each one of her father's bestsellers was lined up neatly in order from the eldest, in Frankie's case it was _Hell Hath No Fury_, to the newest addition, just _Heat._ Her father had run out of titles, however; by no means was the character that brought her parents together and overall created her, going in the attic, or the basement, or getting killed off like Derrick Storm had been. "Not in a million years," her father had told her when Emma turned fifteen and got her _own_ spinoff in the Nikki Heat series, a smart assed teenager who also happened to be Nikki's niece, Cora Heat. Yes, he had given her a character. Everyone seemed to love Cora Heat, considering she was like a mini Jameson Rook, thus bringing 20 times the trouble that Jameson Rook brought to Nikki on his own. Her mother simply rolled her eyes when he revealed his development.

"Alright Donna, see you next week," Emma heard Frankie said. Emma set down the pictures and stood up. She was quick to put her flute together and sit in the chair where Donna had been moments earlier.

"So Em, what's this week's case?" Frankie asked as she flipped through the pages of Emma's lesson book. Emma set her flute across her lap and sighed.

"Well, some guy got pushed off an unfinished building. Dr. Parish will try to identify the body by this afternoon, and we can go from there," Emma explained.

"How bad was it?" Frankie asked.

"Not as bad as some things that I've been allowed to see. But it was pretty bad," Emma said. She blew air into her flute and a high pitched sound came out. She adjusted the length and tried again. It gave a better sound so with a satisfied nod of her head, she turned to Frankie for instruction.

"Page 45, number 5," Frankie said without hesitation. Emma did as told and began to play the intricate rhythms on the page.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Nobody from Nowhere," Detective Esposito chanted, scrolling down the page that was currently opened on his computer screen. "How is that even possible?" he directed at Detective Ryan.<p>

"It's not _impossible_," Ryan responded. Esposito rolled his eyes.

"Yet there is no record that this guy even existed! I mean, why did the Captain assign us to _this_ case? There are dozens of murders in Manhattan alone every day, and we get the _one case_ where there is no record that this guy even existed!"

"Come on man, there are other ways to ID a guy, Dr. Parish is still on it and we'll take what we can get," Ryan stated optimistically.

"You mean _mom._ My mom is still on it, whatever 'it' is," a girl's voice rang out.

"Is that my Tania I hear?" Esposito asked, turning around in his chair to see Tania and Emma standing next to each other at the edge of the "bull pen's" gate. Tania rolled her eyes and pushed her dark brown hair over her shoulder before making her way over to her dad's open arms. Tania embraced her father and smiled into his chest.

"Hi daddy," she said in response. At that moment, Kate came out of the break room with a cup of coffee.

"Emma, good timing, you need to see this," were the first words out of Kate's lips. Emma rolled her eyes.

"What? No, hi Em, or 'How was your flute lesson?'" she groaned, making her way over to her mother's desk. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Don't get snippy with me young lady," Kate said. "Hi Tania," she greeted Emma's friend and her "niece". Tania acknowledged the detective and went back to catching up with her dad.

"So what do you want me to see?" Emma asked, turning her attention back to her mother. Kate pulled up a window on her computer and gestured to a paragraph.

"The DNA results came back from the lab; there is NO record of this guy, _anywhere_. We are dead in the water," Kate explained.

"That's impossible!" Emma exclaimed.

"Not impossible, just extremely rare," Ryan piped up. All four of the others rolled their eyes at his optimism.

"Did you get any answers from Gavin?" Emma asked, turning back to Kate. Her mother shook her head.

"He was just going for a jog in the park when he saw you. There were witnesses around. Sorry Em," she said.

"Why are you apologizing mom? I couldn't expect you to get much from him, he's just a passing bystander," Emma stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"A passing bystander who saved your life, and a cute one at that," Kate stated. Emma's face displayed absolute horror.

"MOM!" she cried. "You know my morals, to be honest I couldn't care less about him, his looks, or the fact that he provided you with absolutely _no_ information for our dead case!" Kate rolled her eyes.

"Well apparently your father thinks otherwise. He's coming with us to dinner, to thank him for saving you," she said.

"What? That's it, I'm calling dad," Emma stated, pulling out her phone and walking away. Kate picked up her phone from the table and hit the send button underneath the prepared text to her husband.

_**Emma's dialing. Whatever you do, don't give in. ~KB~ **_

Emma hit the send button on her phone and held it to her ear, waiting for her dad to pick up.

"_Hello?"_ her dad's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Dad, you didn't seriously invite Gavin to dinner at Remy's did you?"

"_Well, yeah. I ran into him coming out of the precinct and said hi. He was a nice boy and I wanted to thank him somehow, is that so wrong?" _ Rick said.

"And you couldn't have just given him a signed copy of one of your books?" Emma stated.

"_He had the latest book with him. I just asked if he wanted to join us, what's so wrong about that." _

"I can understand Tania or even Lizzie trying to set me up with a guy, but _you and mom_?" Emma exclaimed.

"_Emma I promise you, we aren't trying to set you up with anyone. Just be nice to him tonight, okay?" _Rick pleaded. Emma let out a sigh and put her free hand to her forehead and shook her head in it.

"Fine, but don't expect me to actually get to know him or whatever. Dinner and maybe an autograph, that's it," Emma said into the phone.

"_Thank you for understanding sweetie, I love you," _Rick said from the other end.

"I love you too daddy," Emma groaned, waiting from the dial tone before removing the phone from her ear almost sadly. Great, now she had to eat dinner with the boy who saved her life.

"Emma, we have a match!" her mother's voice broke through her thoughts. Emma shoved her phone into her pocket and ran over towards her waiting mother.

* * *

><p>Gavin Alexander Thomas had always loved the work of Richard Castle. He had always been a fan of murder mysteries, ever since he was young. He felt somehow connected to the characters that came to life in his mind. He had been to several book signings in the past; waiting in line for hours just to get a glimpse of the prodigy whose books lined his shelves. His favorite, <em>Storm Rising<em>, was well worn out, having been read several times over the years since its release. There was no specific reason as to why it was his favorite, it just was. So when the girl with familiar brown eyes and feathered brown hair needed saving, he was quick to be sure that she didn't get pummeled by the falling debris. He had sprinted towards the scene, vaulted over the taut yellow police tape and shoved her to the ground before the bricks hit, he felt heroic. He had saved a girl's life. But as he later discovered, it wasn't just any girl he had saved, it was the one and only daughter of Richard Castle and Katherine Beckett-Castle. The girl who had been all over the papers for months after her birth. He was only two when she was born, but man; a big deal was made about the pregnancy_. Famous Author and Muse tie the knot!_ (Did no one use names anymore?) _Famous Author and Muse Expecting!_ (Again with the titles!) No one made this big a deal about anything before. It was like the royal wedding all over again, except—well, local! Gavin Alexander Thomas was a local hero, according to his idol. He wouldn't be in the papers necessarily, yet in the words of Richard Castle himself; he wouldn't go without being thanked for his actions.

And that's how he ended up sitting next to Emma Castle at dinner, eating a burger, making conversation with her parents. Now if only he could get her to be less distant—it seemed as if she was angered by something. He didn't know how to describe her emotion, but he knew one word for it,

NOT INTERESTED.

No, that's two words.

He didn't know what he did to get her to act the way she did, but she seemed as if she didn't want to grow close to him. At all. He wasn't going to force her that was for certain, but he did know one thing.

He liked this girl, and it wasn't because her dad was famous.


End file.
